Exclusive Clip: Nic Cage Grips Deadly Live Snake for 'Joe'

by David Weiner
1:30 PM PDT, June 13, 2014

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Exclusive Clip: Nic Cage Grips Deadly Live Snake for 'Joe'

We all know that Nicolas Cage is an extremely dedicated actor to his craft. But what the heck was he thinking when he picked up a deadly snake on the set of his gritty new drama, Joe? Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from the new Joe Blu-ray, out Tuesday June 17.

"I was hooked right away," says Cage of the film's powerful screenplay. Director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) says that Cage captured "the stature and strength, and yet eccentric qualities" of the character, and in a scene in which Joe picks up a snake in the forest, Cage bypassed a timid "movie" snake and chose a dangerous Cottonmouth instead: "So Cage uses a venomous, living Cottonmouth as a prop in a movie fearlessly."

A return to form for the Oscar-winning Cage, Joe is a gripping, bare-bones drama about facing your own demons and the consequences of taking someone else under your wing. Cage plays the title role as an ex-con with a hair-trigger temper. Trying to stay out of trouble and to make an honest wage, he meets a troubled 15-year old homeless boy (Mud and Tree of Life star Tye Sheridan) in need of help from his violent and destitute father. Despite trying to keep a low profile, Joe takes the boy under his wing -- and is faced with the heart-breaking choice of redemption or ruin.

Currently available on Video on Demand and Pay-Per-View, Joe is out on Blu-ray Disc (plus Digital HD UltraViolet), DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet) and Digital HD June 17 and includes deleted scenes, an audio commentary and two featurettes that go behind-the-scenes of the making of and origins of the film: The Long Gravel Drive: The Origins of Joe and The Making of Joe.